Arsenal midfield, Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been signed on loan for the rest of the season by Roma coach, Jose Mourinho
By Kehinde Okeowo
Arsenal academy graduate, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, after the disappointment of the last transfer window, has finally completed a loan move to Roma until the end of the season,
The 24-year-old struggled for regular playing time at the Emirates under Mikel Arteta and was denied the opportunity to join Everton on loan last summer, forcing him to vent his frustrations on social media.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, whose contract expires in the summer of 2023, has started just two Premier League games this season and was previously loaned to West Brom last season.
He will be hoping to kickstart his career under former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho in Italy, in the company of fellow Englishman, and former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.
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The player thanked the Roma fans for the support they showed him and also promised to do his best to help the team attain success.
He said, “I am just delighted to be here and can’t wait to crack on. I want to help the team and show what I can do as a player,”
“Thank you to the fans for the support they have already shown me – I hope we can go on to do something great by the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, his manager Mikel Arteta on Friday, justified his decision to loan him to Roma, saying he does not want to hold on to him, knowing he will not be using him.
He also said with the exit of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, they are now short in the midfield, given the fact that Thomas Partey and Mohammed Elnely are away to the African Nations Cup.
In his words: “Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought the best thing for him and his career was to move away.
“He felt the opportunity to go to Rome and work with Jose was a good one.
“Being fair with the amount of minutes that he’s played he was entitled to that opportunity. We wish him the best.
“We’re very short at the moment [in midfield], but this shouldn’t be the only reason for keeping a player.
“Ainsley was very straight with me and I understood the situation. Obviously, we’re going to move and look for options as we’re very short there.”
